A WITCH OF A DIFFERENT KIND...

Well, autumn is officially here. Of course, it seems like autumn has been here for nearly 2 months now if you look solely at retail stores (the artificial Christmas trees were on store shelves as early as August). When October arrives, we usually start to breathe a little easier with regards to the tropics. Less than 10% of North Carolina hurricanes strike after October 1st, and hopefully history will work with us again this year.

1954 proved to be a major exception. On October 15, Category 4 Storm Hazel slammed into the Carolinas. Hazel was officially the strongest hurricane to landfall along our shores in the past 100 years of records. Whereas many of storms of the last decade have been noted for their rain-making capabilities, Hazel was a storm known for its high winds and storm surge.

Hazel's 18 foot storm surge has not been matched along the North Carolina shore in 50 years. Hazel struck during the highest lunar tide of the year, sometimes called "the marsh hen tide" by locals. Adding to Hazel's impressive surge was the intense wind field. Estimated winds were nearly 145 mph at landfall.

Hazel was also a storm of great speed. One of the last true "bulldozer" storms to affect the Carolinas, Hazel was moving at a forward speed of nearly 30 mph when she hit. This allowed the storm to reach inland locations before the wind field could significantly weaken. As a result, storm gusts over 120 mph were reported as far north as Goldsboro. In fact, Hazel's winds were still gusting near 100 mph when the remnant center reached Canada. To this day, Canadian residents count Hazel as one of their most significant storm systems.

Hazel's intensity, coupled with it's untimely arrival so close to Halloween, prompted many resident's to call her "Witch Hazel"- with no affection whatsoever...

(Comments? Send Jerry an email at jjackson@wwaytv3.com)